# Do you still use a landline? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 18, 2009, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-use-a-landline/503417 "2009-07-18T06:26:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2009, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-use-a-landline/503417/61 "2009-07-19T13:23:21Z")
It’s all I use, and that is rarely too. They have their uses but I’d hate to be reliant upon one. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2009, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-use-a-landline/503417/62 "2009-07-19T14:04:15Z")
> [@NinetyWt](#): > > Well, that’s the downside to living in an area with breathtaking views right outside your window. 😉 > > Seriously, that has to be it - your location. The reception here makes cell phones just as good for “visiting” as landlines. That was what I meant in my previous post, that _here_ cell phone reception is as good as landlines. Apparently, also where all of my out-of-town relatives live. 🙂 Yeah it probably is the location. But when in Denver the service also sucks. Not always but sometimes its a lot of “what?” “say again”. Here is a newer [pic](http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r148/enipla/IMG_05921.jpg) of some clouds floating by our house. That’s not ground fog. Those are clouds. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2009, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-use-a-landline/503417/63 "2009-07-19T18:10:08Z")
> [@Student\_Driver](#): > > Presumably then, you wouldn’t be one of the people to whom my question was directed To ‘maintain the number’ is, however, one of the reasons why we keep the landline. I missed the ‘solely’ in your post, please excuse me. enipla: See ?? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2009, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-use-a-landline/503417/64 "2009-07-19T19:40:05Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > You can. Most cellphone service providers relay email sent to some formulaically derived email address. AT&T seems to be [0000000000@mobile.mycingular.com](mailto:0000000000@mobile.mycingular.com) with the 0’s replaced by area code and tel number to the cellphone. Oh, I know I can send them to people, but I have no way of receiving them back without having to turn on my phone, and one-way messaging is kinda useless. ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2009, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-use-a-landline/503417/65 "2009-07-20T03:16:44Z")
Yes, it always ALWAYS works and always with good sound ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2009, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-use-a-landline/503417/66 "2009-07-20T03:45:50Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > I disagree. Some cell phones do very well and others are just terrible all the time. What amazes me is that it’s not directly related to cost. Beyond individual phone performance there is broadcast noise due to building interference or cell tower coverage. You can’t really disagree with my experience - it’s completely subjective. Where I live (London), there really isn’t a noticeable difference in quality. Today I actually did use the landline for a very long call; it’s still cheaper for national rate numbers (like for call centres) and only landlines are actually free for freephone numbers. That’s for the UK, though, and I imagine that’s not true internationally. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2009, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-use-a-landline/503417/67 "2009-07-20T03:53:42Z")
We have a landline. It’s reliable, cheap, and we’re both in the habit of having our cellphones off or not around. Also, one landline = many phones in house, again negating the problem of not having your cell near. Also, 1. My cell is paid for by my employer, and 2. We pay very little for long distance on the landline - in fact, the deal we get for LD on the landline cannot be replicated by any plan we could get on the cells. I’m 37 and my wife is 30. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2009, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-use-a-landline/503417/68 "2009-07-20T04:20:06Z")
> [@scifisam2009](#): > > You can’t really disagree with my experience - it’s completely subjective. Where I live (London), there really isn’t a noticeable difference in quality. I disagree with your disagreeent ;). You may have good service with your phone but no cell phone is immune to a building’s steel structure. That’s not a subjective observation, that’s the reality of anything carried over radio waves. ---
**Author:** ![adhay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@adhay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adhay)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2009, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-use-a-landline/503417/69 "2009-07-20T15:15:52Z")
> [@](#): > > We have a landline, but only because it comes automatically with any broadband package you can get. I pretty much never use it for calls. After I got my cell, I kept my land line for a year to maintain my DSL. I can’t remember how I discovered it (not widely advertised) but my carrier offers stand alone DSL. Land line gone the next day. A check with your carrier would be worthwhile. Since the apartment building I live in put a wifi router on the office computer, I get free internet. Just me and my cell phone now. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2009, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-use-a-landline/503417/70 "2009-07-20T15:46:22Z")
I find that cells are fine for pragmatic conversations conveying basic information but for actual social conversations a landline is necessarily to prevent frustrated insanity. What I find really amusing is back when everything was landlines, there used to be a big deal in advertising about phone service quality (“pin drop” - and you could barely discern the difference in quality except for international calls) but even the worst landline back then was better than cell phones now. However I rarely have long social conversations on the phone anyway so if I wasn’t sharing a landline (well not even really landline, it’s one of those cable phones) with other people I probably wouldn’t bother. Most of the people I would ever have a long conversation with I can video chat with on my computer. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2009, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-use-a-landline/503417/71 "2009-07-20T15:46:51Z")
I’m 29, and I haven’t had a landline in years. Why would I need two numbers, two ways to reach me, when one of the ways isn’t always accessible to me? The last time I had a landline was back when I was still in college. The only reason I had it was b/c I had dialup at the time. :eek: (That was b/c either I was too broke to afford better Internet service, or b/c the apt. I lived in at the time had no better options. Which would mean I was too broke to afford a better apt. building!) When the line wasn’t tied up by my computer, I rarely got any calls, and when I did they were invariably either: - a telemarketer, and I didn’t want to talk to them or - my mother, and I didn’t want to talk to her, either. Easiest call-screening ever. ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2009, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-use-a-landline/503417/72 "2009-07-20T15:51:12Z")
We technically have a landline, as it is bundled in with our internet & cable. For a while, we only used it to harass telemarketers, but after a while we just unplugged the phone. I called to cancel it, but Comcast knocked down the price of the bundle to cheaper than the price of internet+cable, so the line remains, even if there’s no phone plugged into it. > [@Marlitharn](#): > > …when you don’t have access to a real phone. As opposed to two cans and some string? [quote=] all the other crap it does is just shiny baubles and tweeting things the cell phone companies have applied to try to convince us all we have to have one [/quote] Yes, how dare those sonsabitches offer us emerging technologies at our convenience! ---
**Author:** ![MeanJoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanjoe/32/5693_2.png) [@MeanJoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanJoe)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2009, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-use-a-landline/503417/73 "2009-07-20T16:46:58Z")
I was mobile only for a little while when I bought my current house. A new job, and the shift to working from a home-office, required that I install a land-line for work. That is the only land-line phone in the house and I only use it for business. If you want me, dial my mobile! Haha. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2009, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-use-a-landline/503417/74 "2009-07-20T17:34:33Z")
Two person household here - both of us way over 50 years old. Nope - no landline in this house. (Internet is through cable company.) We each have a cell phone and that works just fine for us. I dropped our landline when I realized the only people calling it were telemarketers. All of our friends and family know to reach us on cell phones. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2009, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-use-a-landline/503417/75 "2009-07-20T17:49:46Z")
1. I have DSL so there’s that, but I like having a land line. I appreciated it a few weeks ago when our power was out and my cell barely had charge or minutes. I keep a cheap cell for emergencies. I pay 30 dollars every few months when my minutes run out. ---
**Author:** ![taxi78cab](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47c2d/32.png) [@taxi78cab](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/taxi78cab)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2009, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-use-a-landline/503417/76 "2009-07-20T18:06:35Z")
No landline. I’m 30 and my husband’s 28. We rarely call anyone other than our parents, and they’ve learned to put up with the occasional quirks of our cell phones - the do drop calls maybe once every 3-4 calls - for the return benefit of us always calling them with free weekend minutes so they don’t have to pay the long-distance charges. 'Cause my parents are cheap enough that they worry about that. My phone is provided by work, and all of the fees - including unlimited calls and text - are covered by work as long as we don’t abuse the privilege. Apparently a once-a-week call to my parents, occasional calls to friends, and ~10 texts a month to my husband don’t constitute abuse. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![\_CenturyLinkHelp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/779978/32.png) [@\_CenturyLinkHelp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_CenturyLinkHelp)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2009, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-use-a-landline/503417/77 "2009-07-20T18:19:19Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > No good reception for the cell phones at our house. But the land line is starting to suck too. QWEST is not paying any attention to their hard-line facilities. So my Wife and I are sort of between a rock and a hard place. > > I much prefer a landline phone as it is much more comfortable to hold. My cell phone is more of a PDA than anything. > > And the voice delay on a cell is pretty much intolerable for any more than simple communication. You can’t ‘visit’ on a cell phone. Might as well be on a ‘walki-talki’. > > I’m 48, and live in the boonies. > > Decent cell phone coverage is coming. I’m quite sure we will drop our land line when it does. I’m tired of having three phone numbers. (work, home, cell) > > What I do like about the hard line is that I can have three phones in my house. One in the computer loft, one in the bedroom and one downstairs. I can always get to it easily and quickly. I really don’t intend to carry my cell phone with me 24/7 when I am at home. And it needs to be charged, I can’t always carry it. Hello this is Steph from Qwest, I am sorry to hear that your home service doesn’t seem to be performing very well. I would be happy to have a repair specialist look into it for you and see if we can resolve any issues. If you would like additional assistance, please feel free to email me at [talktous@qwest.com](mailto:talktous@qwest.com) attention Steph. Please include your phone number, address and best contact number for a repairs specialist to get in touch with you. thank you Steph Lake Manager - Consumer Affairs Team [talktous@qwest.com](mailto:talktous@qwest.com) - attention Steph [www.twitter.com/TalkToQwest](http://www.twitter.com/TalkToQwest) "At Qwest your account information is confidential and protected by law, so I need your permission to access the account.” ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2009, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-use-a-landline/503417/78 "2009-07-20T18:24:47Z")
I have one because the security system needs to call out. It drives me crazy that I’m essentially paying twice for my security system - I don’t even know what the number is. Doesn’t hurt to have it for emergencies, but if I didn’t need the system I wouldn’t have one. ETA - I haven’t had a call drop in years. Are all you people fumbling Neandertals who also live in Saskatchewan? ETAA - looking above, WTF? ---
**Author:** ![Kickback\_Joe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/cdc98d/32.png) [@Kickback\_Joe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kickback_Joe)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2009, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-use-a-landline/503417/79 "2009-07-20T18:39:38Z")
My wife (39) and I (40) have a land line as well as cell phones. We kept the LL as two of our boys do not have cell phones because they have enough distractions. The only time the LL is used is by them, their friends and the occasional incoming sales calls. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2009, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-use-a-landline/503417/80 "2009-07-20T18:41:24Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > ETAA - looking above, WTF? We’re seeing more and more of this. Companies are checking message boards to see if their names are mentioned by posters, and they spam for their products or sometimes respond to complaints. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-use-a-landline/503417.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-use-a-landline/503417.md?page=5)